National News

Hartford Plans to Close Parishes

May 31, 2017

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. (CNS) – The new pastoral plan for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn., involves a number of parish closings and mergers.

The changes will leave the archdiocese with 127 parishes, down from its current total of 212. It also calls for 144 parishes to merge into 59 newly named parishes and for 68 parishes to remain unchanged, said Father James Shanley, vicar of the Office of Pastoral Planning.

Church officials cited the changing demographics, lower Mass attendance and fewer priests as drivers for the new plan. They also said change brings an opportunity to breathe new life into the practice of the faith.

“This is ultimately not a question simply of resources and material concerns,” Hartford Archbishop Leonard P. Blair said. “This is a question about the church’s mission. We have always said that the hope here is for a revitalized, more vibrant church life.”

The plan is the result of a two-year consultative pastoral planning process that involved meeting with priests and parishioners to respond to their needs and concerns and to incorporate them into the final plan.

Some of the merged parishes will involve the union of two to six parishes. Many of the newly formed parishes will also maintain multiple worship sites.

By the end of June, 186 church buildings will remain open. Another 26 church buildings will close, meaning they will no longer have regularly scheduled Masses.

Additionally, more than 40 priests are also being reassigned, the archbishop said.

“It is complex precisely because we are not trying to apply a cookie cutter to every situation,” he added.

The Archdiocese of Hartford serves nearly 550,000 Catholics. The cities in the archdiocese, where Catholics have moved out to the suburbs and new immigrant groups are coming in, will be most impacted by upcoming changes.

2 thoughts on “Hartford Plans to Close Parishes”

  1. It is truly sad to be living through the results of Vatican II and the Sexual Revolution (that took place in the 1960’s and 1970’s). Why doesn’t the hierarchy in the Catholic Church see that a big mistake was made and it is never to late to go back to the source of our faith – Jesus Christ. We have moved Jesus from the center of the Holy Mass, our Churches and our Family Life to somewhere that to the naked eye is not easy to find. Although there are Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and Catholic Professors and Teachers who speak the truth about Jesus and His Church, there have been and are those who have misrepresented Jesus’ Words to fit popular opinion. Where has that gotten us? We are not seeing a surge in Mass attendance or on line to receive Jesus’ mercy and grace through the Sacrament of Confession, that He instituted. What about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, kneeling and making the sign of the Cross when entering the pews at Church, during the Consecration? Why have we become so proud that we no longer believe that Jesus is our King and before Him, we humble ourselves, knowing that He is the source of all we are and have!